County Seat: Groveton * County Population: 14,585 (2010 Census)
The Trinity County Courthouse was built in 1914 in a Classical Revival style. The county capitol features a full-height portico with paired Tuscan columns, as well as brick parapet, denticulation, corbelled window surrounds, and stepped wings.
Trinity County was carved from Houston County in 1850. An appointed commission called for an election, and Sumpter was chosen as the first county seat. Trinity served as the second seat, followed by Pennington.
The Trinity County and Sabine Pass Land and Railway Company laid out the town of Groveton in 1881 when the I&GN Railroad came through the area. The following year, Trinity County voters chose Groveton as their county seat. The county’s fifth and final courthouse was built after a $50,000 bond election.
The county was named for the Trinity River, while Groveton references the area’s lush forests.
The railroad raised a temporary courthouse for the county, and the frame structure, located at what is now Main and First streets, served the county until 1884. The county eventually moved into a brick building at this site; however, the construction was unstable, and by the early 1900s the Commissioners Court was concerned for the safety of county records. Officials hired W.A. Norris to build a records building exactly like the one L.S. Green had designed for Polk County. The county paid Green for the use of his plans, and the county then moved the records to the new building in 1908.
In late 1913, the Commissioners Court hired C.H. Page and Bros. of Austin to design a new courthouse that would incorporate the 1908 records building. Accepted in July the next year, the structure was rectilinear, stretching to connect almost seamlessly to the records building on the east side of the courthouse square.
Trinity County, located in the part of East Texas known as “Deep East Texas,” is situated between the Neches and the Trinity rivers and borders the north end of Lake Livingston, a 90,000-acre lake. A large portion of the Davy Crockett National Forest, 67,000 acres, is located in the northern part of Trinity County. This combination of two rivers, Lake Livingston, and the national forest provides an excellent opportunity for residents and tourists to enjoy the great outdoors, particularly hunting and fishing.
Trinity County is also home to three golf courses including Whispering Pines Golf Club, which has been recognized by Golf Digest as one of “America’s Greatest 100.” Whispering Pines is home to the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship.
The county’s largest city, Trinity, is host to many special annual events including Casino Night in February, the County Fair in March, the Cajun Crawfish Boil in May, the Community Fair in September, the Cowboy Revival and Rodeo and the Area Go Texan Barbecue Cook-off in October, and Christmas at the Crossroads and Christmas on the Square in December.